Daisies & Lilies
by justanoutlaw
Summary: A missing scene from "The Price". The story behind the flower crown Emma wears to the ball.


I got this idea today after watching the scene where Snow and Emma get ready for the ball in Camelot.

* * *

Emma sat on the swings in the park, slowly pumping her legs. She tried to find her older foster sister, but she was nowhere in sight. Probably off with her boyfriend again, kissing. She made a face at the thought of that and tried to think of something else. Her eyes floated over to the field where some families were picnicking. She noticed there was a mother and daughter, the little girl was probably around her age. They were picking daisies from the ground, tying them together.

Emma watched them closely out of curiosity, unsure of what they were doing. Finally, when the mother was done with hers, she placed it onto the daughter's head. A few moments later, the daughter did the same, placing hers onto her mom's head. They were smiling brightly at one another, chatting a mile a minute.

"Yo, kid, let's go," Giana, Emma's foster sister, broke her out of her thoughts. "My mom wanted us home for dinner."

Nodding, Emma hopped off the swing and followed her home, not saying a word. After they ate, the 6-year-old headed into the backyard and found a patch of daisies that had yet to be weeded. Plucking them, one by one, she attempted to follow suit in what she had seen the little girl do. It wasn't the best, but the effort showed. Once she was done, she placed the daisy chain crown atop of her head and smiled softly.

Suddenly, she could hear her foster brother's voice coming from behind her. "What the heck is that?"

She softly sighed. "Leave me alone, Jonny."

"I asked you a question."

"It's a crown, a daisy crown. I saw someone making one at the park." Jonny laughed and snatched the crown off the top of her head. Emma jumped up. "Hey! Give it back!"

"You're not a princess, Emma. You're an orphan," he teased. "This isn't even your real home. My parents aren't going to adopt you, they told me so. A new baby is coming next week and you'll be out of here."

Jonny smirked as he tore the crown into two, stomping all over it, ruining the hard work Emma had put it into it. Tears burned her eyes, but even at her young age, she knew better. Crying did it help, it only made her look weak and would only make Jonny tease her more. Instead, she did the only thing she knew. She shoved him to the ground and punched him in the nose. Jonny let out a loud scream and his mother came running out of the house.

As it turned out, Emma wasn't being moved in a week. She was sent packing that very night. No one seemed to care about her side of the story, they never did.

* * *

Emma stared out the window of the castle, her mind racing with all of her dark thoughts. Dark Gold wasn't in the room with her, at least not in the moment, but that didn't meant the thoughts had escaped. She shut her eyes and drew in a deep breath, slowly letting it out.

"Em?"

She turned around, forcing a smile to her face. "Mom, hey. What's up?"

"I'm sure you know about the ball tonight."

"Yeah, Dad said Guinevere was going to help you find dresses for all of us."

"She did. There's more though, she wanted to know about accessories."

"Oh, Mom. I'm not really a jewelry person…" She had long since stopped wearing her silver circle necklace and had given her swan keychain to Henry after his father died.

Snow nodded. "I know, but I was thinking…you are a princess."

"I forget about that sometimes."

"I'm wearing a tiara. Perhaps you'd like to."

She paused for a minute, unsure of what to say. The truth was, she really wasn't much of a tiara person either. She had once snuck trying on her Grandma Eva's tiara, but it didn't feel right. She was glad she never had to wear one growing up, they were just too girly for her taste. However, her mind went back to when she was younger, an orphan.

Something she wasn't anymore.

"You know, um, there's actually something I've always wanted to do…with my mom. Maybe you'd like to help me?"

Snow smiled and nodded. "Of course. Your father's got Neal, what can I help you with?"

Emma lead Snow outside and to the garden, whispering to Guinevere to get permission before she did what she wanted to. Slowly, she began picking some flowers. There were no daisies, though there were some lilies, it was close enough.

"When I was little…I saw this mother and daughter, they were making daisy chain crowns for each other," Emma said after a beats of silence. "I…I made one when I got home. Wasn't the same though and my foster brother destroyed it. I just…I always wished…"

Snow placed her hand on top of Emma's. "That you could make one with your mom?"

She nodded. "Is that silly?"

"Definitely not." Snow reflected on Emma's words and picked out a lily, adding it to the crown Emma was making. "You know, um, it's been awhile since I've been to a ball myself. Maybe we could get ready together tonight?"

A small smile broke through on Emma's face and she looked happier than she had since she took on the darkness. "I would love that, Mom."

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I do accept prompts! Whether it be on here, Tumblr or Twitter. I have two Tumblr accounts: just-an-outlaw and justanoutlawfanfiction. My Twitter is: justanoutlawfic.


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